Mount Hayden as seen from Point Imperial, Grand Canyon National Park, northwestern Arizona, U.S.

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Panoramic views of Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona: a close-up of coloured cliffs (top), a …

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The Grand Canyon lies in the southwestern portion of the Colorado Plateau, which occupies a large area of the southwestern United States and consists essentially of horizontal layered rocks and lava flows. The broad, intricately sculptured chasm of the canyon contains between its outer walls a multitude of imposing peaks, buttes, gorges, and ravines. It ranges in width from about 175 yards (160 metres) to 18 miles (29 km) and extends in a winding course from the mouth of the Paria River, near Lees Ferry and the northern boundary of Arizona with Utah, to Grand Wash Cliffs, near the Nevada state line, a distance of about 277 miles (446 km); the first portion of the canyon—from Lees Ferry to the confluence with the Little Colorado River—is called Marble Canyon. The Grand Canyon also includes many tributary side canyons and surrounding plateaus.

Grand Canyon, Arizona, U.S., designated a World Heritage site in 1979.

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The greatest depths of the Grand Canyon lie more than a mile (some 6,000 feet [1,800 metres]) below its rim. The deepest and most spectacularly beautiful section, 56 miles (90 km) long, is within the central part of Grand Canyon National Park, which encompasses the river’s length from Lake Powell (formed by Glen Canyon Dam in 1963) to Lake Mead (formed by Hoover Dam in 1936). The North Rim, at approximately 8,200 feet (2,500 metres) above sea level, is some 1,200 feet (365 metres) higher than the South Rim. In its general colour, the Grand Canyon is red, but each stratum or group of strata has a distinctive hue—buff and gray, delicate green and pink, or, in its depths, brown, slate-gray, and violet.

Although its awesome grandeur and beauty are the major attractions of the Grand Canyon, perhaps its most vital and valuable aspect lies in the time scale of Earth history that is revealed in the exposed rocks of the canyon walls. No other place on Earth compares to the Grand Canyon for its extensive and profound record of geologic events. The canyon’s record, however, is far from continuous and complete. There are immense time gaps; many millions of years are unaccounted for, owing to gaps in the strata that resulted either from vast quantities of materials being removed by erosion or because there was little or no deposition of materials. Thus, rock formations of considerably different ages are separated by only a thin distinct surface that reveals the vast unconformity in time.

The Colorado Plateau and the Grand Canyon, northern Arizona, U.S.

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Briefly summarized, the geologic history of the canyon strata is as follows. The crystallized, twisted, and contorted unstratified rocks of the inner gorge at the bottom of the canyon are Archean granite and schist more than 2.5 billion years old. Overlying those very ancient rocks is a layer of Proterozoic limestones, sandstones, and shales that are more than 540 million years old. On top of them are Paleozoic rock strata composed of more limestones, freshwater shales, and cemented sandstones that form much of the canyon’s walls and represent a depositional period stretching over 300 million years. Overlying those rocks in the ordinary geologic record should be a thick sequence of Mesozoic rocks (about 250 to 65 million years old), but rocks dating from the Mesozoic Era in the Grand Canyon have been entirely eroded away. Mesozoic rocks are found nonetheless in nearby southern Utah, where they form precipitous butte remnants and vermilion, white, and pink cliff terraces. Of relatively recent origin are overlying sheets of black lava and volcanic cones that occur a few miles southeast of the canyon and in the western Grand Canyon proper, some estimated to have been active within the past 1,000 years. (See alsoGrand Canyon Series.)

Mather Point observation area, a popular spot for viewing the Grand Canyon, Arizona.

The cutting of the mile-deep Grand Canyon by the Colorado River is an event of relatively recent geologic history that began not more than six million years ago, when the river began following its present course. The Colorado River’s rapid velocity and large volume and the great amounts of mud, sand, and gravel it carries swiftly downstream account for the incredible cutting capacity of the river. Before Glen Canyon Dam was built, the sediments carried by the Colorado River were measured at an average of 500,000 tons per day. Conditions favourable to vigorous erosion were brought about by the uplift of the region, which steepened the river’s path and allowed deep entrenchment. The depth of the Grand Canyon is the result of the cutting action of the river, but its great width is explained by rain, wind, temperature, and chemical erosion, helped by the rapid wear of soft rocks, all of which steadily widened the canyon. An experiment was conducted in March 2008, in which water equivalent to about 40 percent of the river’s original flow was released from Glen Canyon Dam for a period of 60 hours to measure the erosion and deposition of sediments along the river. Researchers monitoring the experiment noted additional sand deposition at numerous locations along the river following the release.

The most significant aspect of the environment that is responsible for the canyon is frequently overlooked or not recognized. Were it not for the semiarid climate in the surrounding area, there would be no Grand Canyon. Slope wash from rainfall would have removed the canyon walls, the stair-step topography would long ago have been excavated, the distinctive sculpturing and the multicoloured rock structures could not exist, the Painted Desert southeast of the canyon along the Little Colorado River would be gone, and the picturesque Monument Valley to the northeast near the Utah state line would have only a few rounded hillocks.

Biological past and present

Terrestrial plant and animal fossils are not abundant in the Grand Canyon’s sedimentary rocks because of the age of the rocks. Fossils are mostly of primitive algae and such marine species as mollusks, corals, trilobites, and other invertebrates.

Plant life is also varied. In the bottom of the canyon, where temperatures in the summer can reach a high of 120 °F (49 °C), are willows and cottonwoods, which require abundant water during the growing season. Drought-resistant plants include tamarisks, yuccas, agaves, and numerous species of cactus. Efforts have been made to eradicate stands of the invasive tamarisk. On the canyon rims, north and south, there is a wide assortment of plant life. Typical of the South Rim, which receives about 15 inches (380 mm) of precipitation annually, is a well-developed ponderosa pine forest, with scattered stands of piñon pine and juniper. Bush vegetation consists mainly of scrub oak, mountain mahogany, and large sagebrush. On the North Rim, which receives 26 inches (660 mm) of precipitation annually, are magnificent forest communities of ponderosa pine, white and Douglas fir, blue spruce, and aspen. Under less optimum conditions the plant life reverts to the desert varieties.

Vegetation at the Grand Canyon, Arizona.

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Animal life in the Grand Canyon area today, however, is varied and abundant. Common mammals are the many varieties of squirrels, coyotes, foxes, deer, badgers, bobcats, rabbits, chipmunks, and kangaroo rats. In addition, the canyon region is home to a great many bird species, including raptors such as bald eagles and peregrine falcons and the rare California condor; fish species include trout and (in the Little Colorado River) the rare humpback chub (Gila cypha).

California condor in flight in the Grand Canyon, northwestern Arizona, U.S.

Many pueblo and cliff-dweller ruins, with accompanying artifacts, indicate prehistoric occupation. The first sighting of the Grand Canyon by a European is credited to the Francisco Coronado expedition of 1540 and subsequent discovery to two Spanish priests, Francisco Domínguez and Silvestre Vélez de Escalante, in 1776. In the early 1800s trappers examined it, and sundry expeditions sent by the U.S. government to explore and map the West began to record information about the canyon. The first known descent of the river by boat through the canyon was in 1869, during an expedition to the area led by geologist and ethnographer John Wesley Powell. During the 1870s Powell and others conducted subsequent expeditions to the region, and extensive reports on the geography, geology, botany, and ethnology of the area were published.

Havasu Falls, Grand Canyon, northwestern Arizona, U.S.

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The Grand Canyon at the foot of the Toroweap, illustration by William Henry Holmes from Clarence E. …

A portion of the canyon area was set aside as Grand Canyon Forest Reserve by Pres. Benjamin Harrison in 1893, and it was redesignated a game preserve (1903) and national monument (1908) by Pres. Theodore Roosevelt before the U.S. Congress officially established Grand Canyon National Park in 1919. The park’s area was greatly enlarged in 1975 by the addition of adjoining federal and other lands. In 1979 the park was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is an immensely popular tourist destination, with several million visitors per year.

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Noted for its fantastic shapes and colors, the Grand Canyon is one of the most spectacular sights in the United States. The vast canyon was cut through many layers of rock by the muddy waters of the Colorado River. It runs for 277 miles (446 kilometers) through northwestern Arizona, ranging from about 0.1-18 miles (0.2-29 kilometers) wide. In places the canyon is more than a mile (1.6 kilometers) deep.

Nature’s greatest example of sculpture, the Grand Canyon in northern Arizona is the most spectacular canyon in the world. It is a 277-mile (446-kilometer) gorge cut through high plateaus by the Colorado River. It is noted for its fantastic shapes and colors. Within the walls of the canyon stand imposing peaks, canyons, and ravines. In general, the color of the canyon is red, but each stratum (a layer of the Earth) or group of strata has a distinctive hue-buff and gray, delicate green and pink, and, in its depths, brown, slate-gray, and violet.